Does TLC (Thinking Like Canines) apply to leadership as well as team building?

Within each pack there is a natural leader, each hunting party has a leader - a senior canine - adolescent canines and juniors all have a leader. Each leader is answerable to the main pack leader. Pack leaders within a pack parallel team leaders within a company. Body language is a natural language a good pack leader keeps the natural language calm but firm, listens to the pack's suggestions but still remains in control. The quality of leadership comes from knowing yourself and being confident, a message that can be translated through the body but if not presented correctly can be misread.

What if myself or someone on my team is nervous / frightened of dogs?

There is no physical contact needed with the dogs to work them. A willingness to communicate and respect of the dogs willingness to work are essential but being too familiar with them is not. Clients who have a fear animals can be given a different role that includes them in the day and the learning curve without any direct contact with either dogs or sheep.

Some of my team are a little apprehensive about the term 'dog sees the real you' could you explain more please?

Age, gender, fitness level are unimportant to a dog, a willingness to learn and communicate are. The dog understands and reads natural body language, it knows if a person is shy, confident or lacking in confidence. It then adapts to that person in order to be able to work with them. Honesty within the pack, understanding vulnerabilities, recognising strengths and balancing them are vital to creating a solid unit, creating this empathy begins with each member understanding themselves and their team players in order to create the balance.

How can using body language to work a dog relate to the workplace and people?

Each dog is an individual, as is each team player, being able to 'read' the body language helps each person interact with other team players. For example 'John' enters the training ring to work a dog called Hope, John is not very confident when presented with a new task (vulnerability). Hope is very confident (strength) but quite happy to balance with John, waiting for him to learn. John later enters the training ring with Mossie who is only learning and not very confident (vulnerabliity). John recognises Mossie's vulnerability and balances with the strength of more experience and maturity, this in turn helps Mossie to become stronger and they balance together happily to form a partnership and thus succeed in their task.

What if the weather is wet/cold?

If the weather is unfavourable we have undercover facilities for the initial learning curve but we are taking people out of their comfort zone to work a sheepdog around sheep so part of every event will be outside in the elements. Plenty of hot drinks and a warm meeting room are not very far away. (We also make provision for shade and cool drinks in hot weather).

What do you mean by 'pack to profession'?

Below are two examples of 'pack to profession' parallels between the canine and human pack. There are many other such parallels that teams are encouraged to draw on themselves during each corporate event.

PACK: A pack dog will do the bidding of a pack leader but he will also be able to act on his own initiative if placed in a position of responsibility.PROFESSION: The Manager will have over all control of his/her staff but there will be times when the staff must be trusted to act on their own initiative.

PACK: A good pack leader will not accept a dog that fails to be a committed pack member. If he has done his job correctly all members will have respect for him, if they have not he has shown a weakness, either by incorrectly judging his younger members or by issuing too much responsibility too soon.PROFESSION: A good Manager will watch the more inexperienced staff and work to enhance the qualities needed to enable them to become responsible team members. He/she will not give them responsibility until they are ready for it. Too much too soon can produce insecurity or over confidence.

How does working a dog identify/develop natural leadership skills?

A dog understands and respects leadership, but if not presented with a leader it will endeavour to do the job on its own, the task being more important than personal gain. To gain optimum performance a leader is needed to make the decisions but if the incorrect vocal command is given the dog will ignore the command and work from the body language it can see. The 'shepherd' must present a clearly defined message with the body to make sure the dog will understand his intentions. Words are wasted on team members (dog or human) if they are not presented correctly thus causing a breakdown in communication. A dog will only respond to a clearly defined body language so each 'shepherd' learns to use their natural communication in different circumstances, with different recipients and when under pressure.